Typical hair coloring techniques involve preparing a hair color mixture. Hair color mixtures typically include a hair coloring ingredient which is admixed with a developing lotion. The developing lotion is usually contained in an applicatior bottle to which the hair coloring ingredient is added. Before applying the resultant color mixture, the hair coloring ingredient and developing lotion interact for a predetermined time period.
Hair coloring is often performed by trained professional hairdressers in beauty salons. Hairdressers commonly work on more than one individual at a time. Rather than sitting idle while the hair coloring ingredients for one customer are interacting, a hairdresser often fills this time by caring for other customers as by cutting hair, providing permanents, or a multitude of other hair care operations.
All hair coloring applications must be timed. The length or period of time that the ingredients need to react with each other is relatively short. The length or period of time the resultant color mixture is applied to the hair varies as a function of several factors. Other hair care operations being concurrently performed by a busy professional hairdresser also fill relatively short time periods. During busy periods in the salon, it is difficult, at best, for a hairdresser to timely coordinate all of these ongoing activities. Yet, unless hair coloring applications are timed, the result for the customer may be other than that desired.
In view of such demanding time requirements, separate timers are a common sight in beauty salons. Such timers are selectively set to monitor and measure time and are located proximate to the particular hair coloring bottle for which the time is being measured or monitored.
Hair coloring applicator bottles and timers are separate items which lead to problems when trying to identify which applicator bottle and timer belong together. Separation of the timer from the applicator bottle further complicates the hair coloring process.